Methods and devices for presenting and interactive media guidance application

ABSTRACT

Methods and devices for presenting an interactive media guidance application are provided. In some embodiments, methods for presenting an interactive media guidance application in a user equipment device are provided, the methods comprising: determining a location of the user equipment device; determining a destination of the user equipment device; determining an arrival time for the user equipment device to be located at the destination; selecting, as guide listings, listings corresponding to media available at the destination at/after the arrival time; and presenting the guide listings on the user equipment device.

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional application No.61/014,916, filed Dec. 19, 2007, the disclosure of which is herebyincorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

With recent advancements in communications network technologies, atraveler has virtually unlimited access to information and media contentthat may be provided via networks such as the Internet. For the averageperson that wishes to watch a movie (or any other media content) duringa trip, or determine what that person can watch when he or she arrivesat his or her destination, however, the task of identifying availablemedia content can be overwhelming.

Accordingly, it is desirable to provide mechanisms to simplify the tasksof determining what media content is available during a trip anddetermining what media content is available at a traveler's destination.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Methods and devices for presenting an interactive media guidanceapplication are provided in accordance with various embodiments of thepresent invention. In some embodiments, methods for presenting aninteractive media guidance application in a user equipment device areprovided, the methods comprising: determining a location of the userequipment device; determining a destination of the user equipmentdevice; determining an arrival time for the user equipment device to belocated at the destination; selecting, as guide listings, listingscorresponding to media available at the destination at/after the arrivaltime; and presenting the guide listings on the user equipment device.

In some embodiments, devices for presenting an interactive mediaguidance application are provided, the devices comprising: processingcircuitry that: determines a location of the device; determines adestination of the device; determines an arrival time for the device tobe located at the destination; and selects, as guide listings, listingscorresponding to media available at the destination at/after the arrivaltime; and a display that presents the guide listings.

In some embodiments, devices for presenting an interactive mediaguidance application are provided, the devices comprising: means fordetermining a location of the device; means for determining adestination of the device; means for determining an arrival time for thedevice to be located at the destination; means for selecting, as guidelistings, listings corresponding to media available at the destinationat/after the arrival time; and means for presenting the guide listingson the device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a grid display in an interactive mediaguidance application in accordance with some embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a mosaic display in an interactivemedia guidance application in accordance with some embodiments of thepresent invention.

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate examples of user equipment devices the may beused to implement an interactive media guidance application inaccordance with some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a system for implementing aninteractive media guidance application in accordance with someembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a process for implementing aninteractive media guidance application that is based upon a currentlocation, a destination, and/or an arrival time of a traveling user inaccordance with some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a process for determining an arrivaltime in an interactive media guidance application in accordance withsome embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a grid display for a pre-arrival guidein an interactive media guidance application in accordance with someembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a mosaic display for a pre-arrivalguide in an interactive media guidance application in accordance withsome embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a prompt for recording a program in apre-arrival guide in an interactive media guidance application inaccordance with some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a prompt for receiving a recordingbeginning time in a pre-arrival guide in an interactive media guidanceapplication in accordance with some embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example of a grid display for a post-arrivalguide in an interactive media guidance application in accordance withsome embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example of a mosaic display for a post-arrivalguide in an interactive media guidance application in accordance withsome embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a setup screen in an interactive mediaguidance application in accordance with some embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 14 illustrates an example of a grid display for an interactivemedia guidance application in which guide listing for media content thatwill not be available at the destination are shown in accordance withsome embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 15 illustrates an example of a process for the interactive mediaguidance application of FIG. 14 in accordance with some embodiments ofthe present invention.

FIG. 16 illustrates an example of a grid display for an interactivemedia guidance application in which guide listings for a currentlocation and a destination are compared in accordance with someembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 17 illustrates an example of a process for the interactive mediaguidance application of FIG. 16 in accordance with some embodiments ofthe present invention.

FIG. 18 illustrates an example of a trip wizard in accordance with someembodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS EMBODIMENTS

The amount of media available to users in any given media deliverysystem can be substantial. Consequently, many users desire a form ofmedia guidance through an interface that allows users to efficientlynavigate media selections and easily identify media that they maydesire. An application which provides such guidance is referred toherein as an interactive media guidance application or, sometimes, amedia guidance application or a guidance application.

Interactive media guidance applications may take various forms dependingon the media for which they provide guidance. One typical type of mediaguidance application is an interactive television program guide.Interactive television program guides (sometimes referred to aselectronic program guides) are well-known guidance applications that,among other things, allow users to navigate among and locate many typesof media content (which may be referred to herein as “programs” or“programming”) including conventional television programming (providedvia traditional broadcast, cable, satellite, Internet, or other means),as well as pay-per-view programs, on-demand programs (as invideo-on-demand (VOD) systems), Internet content (e.g., streaming media,downloadable media, Webcasts, etc.), and other types of media or videocontent. Guidance applications may also allow users to navigate amongand locate content related to the video content including, for example,video clips, articles, advertisements, chat sessions, games, etc.

With the advent of the Internet, mobile computing, and high-speedwireless networks, users are accessing media on personal computers (PCs)and other devices on which they traditionally did not, such as hand-heldcomputers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile telephones,vehicle entertainment systems, or other mobile devices. On these devicesusers are able to navigate among and locate the same media availablethrough a television. Consequently, media guidance is necessary on thesedevices, as well. The guidance provided may be for media contentavailable only through a television, for media content available onlythrough one or more of these devices, or for media content availableboth through a television and one or more of these devices. The mediaguidance applications may be provided as on-line applications (i.e.,provided on a web-site), or as stand-alone applications or clients onhand-held computers, PDAs, mobile telephones, or other mobile devices.The various devices and platforms that may implement media guidanceapplications are described in more detail below.

One of the functions of the media guidance application is to providemedia listings and media information to users. FIGS. 1-2 showillustrative display screens that may be used to provide media guidance,and in particular media listings. The display screens shown in FIGS.1-2, 7-14, and 16 may be implemented on any suitable device or platform.While the displays of FIGS. 1-2, 7-14, and 16 are illustrated as fullscreen displays, they may also be fully or partially overlaid over mediacontent being displayed. A user may indicate a desire to access mediainformation by selecting a selectable option provided in a displayscreen (e.g., a menu option, a listings option, an icon, a hyperlink,etc.) or pressing a dedicated button (e.g., a GUIDE button) on a remotecontrol or other user input interface or device. In response to theuser's indication, a media guidance application may provide a displayscreen with media information organized in one of several ways, such asby time and channel in a grid, by time, by channel, by media type, bycategory (e.g., movies, sports, news, children, or other categories ofprogramming), or other predefined, user-defined, or other organizationcriteria.

FIG. 1 shows illustrative grid program listings display 100 arranged bytime and channel that enables access to different types of media contentin a single display. Display 100 may include grid 102 with: (1) a columnof channel/media type identifiers 104, where each channel/media typeidentifier (which is a cell in the column) identifies a differentchannel or media type available; and (2) a row of time identifiers 106,where each time identifier (which is a cell in the row) identifies atime block of programming. Grid 102 also includes cells of programlistings, such as program listing 108, where each listing provides thetitle of the program provided on the listing's associated channel andtime. With a user input device, a user can select program listings bymoving highlight region 110. Information relating to the program listingselected by highlight region 110 may be provided in program informationregion 112. Region 112 may include, for example, the program title, theprogram description, the time the program is provided (if applicable),the channel the program is on (if applicable), the program's rating, andother desired information.

In addition to providing access to linear programming provided accordingto a schedule, a media guidance application may also provide access tonon-linear programming which is not provided according to a schedule.Non-linear programming may include content from different media sourcesincluding on-demand media content (e.g., video-on-demand (VOD)),Internet content (e.g., streaming media, downloadable media, etc.),locally stored media content (e.g., video content stored on a digitalvideo recorder (DVR), digital video/versatile disc (DVD), videocassette, compact disc (CD), etc.), or other time-insensitive mediacontent. On-demand content may include both movies and original mediacontent provided by a particular media provider (e.g., HBO On Demandproviding “The Sopranos” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm”). HBO ON DEMAND, THESOPRANOS, and CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM are trademarks owned by the Home BoxOffice, Inc. Internet content may include web events, such as a chatsession or Webcast, or content available on-demand as streaming media ordownloadable media through an Internet web site or other Internet access(e.g., FTP).

Grid 102 may provide listings for non-linear programming includingon-demand listing 114, recorded media listing 116, and Internet contentlisting 118. A display combining listings for content from differenttypes of media sources is sometimes referred to as a “mixed-media”display. The various permutations of the types of listings that may bedisplayed may be based on user selection or guidance applicationdefinition (e.g., a display of only recorded and broadcast listings,only on-demand and broadcast listings, etc.), and any suitablepermutation may be used. As illustrated, listings 114, 116, and 118 areshown as spanning the entire time block displayed in grid 102 toindicate that selection of these listings may provide access to adisplay dedicated to on-demand listings, recorded listings, or Internetlistings, respectively. In other embodiments, listings for these mediatypes may be included directly in grid 102. Additional listings may bedisplayed in response to the user selecting one of the navigationalicons 120. (Pressing an arrow key on a user input device may affect thedisplay in a similar manner as selecting navigational icons 120.)

Display 100 may also include video region 122, advertisement 124, andoptions region 126. Video region 122 may allow the user to view and/orpreview programs that are currently available, will be available, orwere available to the user. The content of video region 122 maycorrespond to, or be independent from, one of the listings displayed ingrid 102. Grid displays including a video region are sometimes referredto as picture-in-guide (PIG) displays. PIG displays and theirfunctionalities are described in greater detail in Satterfield et al.U.S. Pat. No. 6,564,378, issued May 13, 2003 and Yuen et al. U.S. Pat.No. 6,239,794, issued May 29, 2001, which are hereby incorporated byreference herein in their entireties. PIG displays may be included inother media guidance application display screens of the presentinvention.

Advertisement 124 may provide an advertisement for media content that,depending on a viewer's access rights (e.g., for subscriptionprogramming), is currently available for viewing, will be available forviewing in the future, or may never become available for viewing, andmay correspond to or be unrelated to one or more of the media listingsin grid 102. Advertisement 124 may also be for products or servicesrelated or unrelated to the media content displayed in grid 102.Advertisement 124 may be selectable and provide further informationabout media content, provide information about a product or a service,enable purchasing of media content, a product, or a service, providemedia content relating to the advertisement, etc. Advertisement 124 maybe targeted based on a user's profile/preferences, monitored useractivity, the type of display provided, or on other suitable targetedadvertisement bases.

While advertisement 124 is shown as rectangular or banner shaped,advertisements may be provided in any suitable size, shape, and locationin a guidance application display. For example, advertisement 124 may beprovided as a rectangular shape that is horizontally adjacent to grid102. This is sometimes referred to as a panel advertisement. Inaddition, advertisements may be overlaid over media content or aguidance application display or embedded within a display.Advertisements may also include text, images, rotating images, videoclips, or other types of media content. Advertisements may be stored inthe user equipment with the guidance application, in a databaseconnected to the user equipment, in a remote location (includingstreaming media servers), or on other storage means or a combination ofthese locations. Providing advertisements in a media guidanceapplication is discussed in greater detail in, for example, Knudson etal., U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2003/0110499 A1, publishedJun. 12, 2003, Ward, III et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,756,997, issued Jun. 29,2004, and Schein et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,388,714, issued May 14, 2002,which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.It will be appreciated that advertisements may be included in othermedia guidance application display screens of the present invention.

Options region 126 may allow the user to access different types of mediacontent, media guidance application displays, and/or media guidanceapplication features. Options region 126 may be part of display 100 (andother display screens of the present invention), or may be invoked by auser by selecting an on-screen option or pressing a dedicated orassignable button on a user input device. The selectable options withinoptions region 126 may concern features related to program listings ingrid 102 or may include options available from a main menu display.Features related to program listings may include searching for other airtimes or ways of receiving a program, recording a program, enablingseries recording of a program, setting a program and/or channel as afavorite, purchasing a program, or other features. Options availablefrom a main menu display may include search options, VOD options,parental control options, options to access to various types of listingdisplays, options to subscribe to a premium service, options to edit auser's profile, options to access a browse overlay, or other options.

The media guidance application may be personalized based on a user'spreferences. A personalized media guidance application may allow a userto customize displays and features to create a personalized “experience”with the media guidance application. This personalized experience may becreated by allowing a user to input these customizations and/or by themedia guidance application monitoring user activity to determine varioususer preferences. Users may access their personalized guidanceapplication by logging in or otherwise identifying themselves to theguidance application. Customization of the media guidance applicationmay be made in accordance with a user profile. The customizations mayinclude varying presentation schemes (e.g., color scheme of displays,font size of text, etc.), aspects of media content listings displayed(e.g., only HDTV programming, user-specified broadcast channels based onfavorite channel selections, re-ordering the display of channels,recommended media content, etc.), desired recording features (e.g.,recording or series recordings for particular users, recording quality,etc.), parental control settings, and other desired customizations.

The media guidance application may allow a user to provide user profileinformation or may automatically compile user profile information. Themedia guidance application may, for example, monitor the media the useraccesses and/or other interactions the user may have with the guidanceapplication. Additionally, the media guidance application may obtain allor part of other user profiles that are related to a particular user(e.g., from web sites on the Internet the user accesses, such aswww.tvguide.com, from other media guidance applications the useraccesses, from other interactive applications the user accesses, from ahandheld device of the user, etc.), and/or obtain information about theuser from other sources that the media guidance application may access.As a result, a user can be provided with a unified guidance applicationexperience across the user's different devices. This type of userexperience is described in greater detail below in connection with FIG.4. Additional personalized media guidance application features aredescribed in greater detail in Ellis et al., U.S. Patent ApplicationPublication No. 2005/0251827 A1, published Nov. 10, 2005, Boyer et al.,U.S. Pat. No. 7,165,098, issued Jan. 16, 2007, and Ellis et al., U.S.Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0174430 A1, published Nov. 21,2002, which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in theirentireties.

Another display arrangement for providing media guidance is shown inFIG. 2. Video mosaic display 200 includes selectable options 202 formedia content information organized based on media type, genre, and/orother organization criteria. In display 200, television listings option204 is selected, thus providing listings 206, 208, 210, and 212 asbroadcast program listings. The listings in display 200 are not limitedto simple text (e.g., the program title) and icons to describe media.Rather, in display 200 the listings may provide graphical imagesincluding cover art, still images from the media content, video clippreviews, live video from the media content, or other types of mediathat indicate to a user the media content being described by thelisting. Each of the graphical listings may also be accompanied by textto provide further information about the media content associated withthe listing. For example, listing 208 may include more than one portion,including media portion 214 and text portion 216. Media portion 214and/or text portion 216 may be selectable to view video in full-screenor to view program listings related to the video displayed in mediaportion 214 (e.g., to view listings for the channel that the video isdisplayed on).

The listings in display 200 are illustrated as being of different sizes(i.e., listing 206 is larger than listings 208, 210, and 212), but ifdesired, all the listings may be the same size. Listings may be ofdifferent sizes or graphically accentuated to indicate degrees ofinterest to the user or to emphasize certain content, as desired by themedia provider or based on user preferences. Various systems and methodsfor graphically accentuating media listings are discussed in, forexample, Yates, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/324,202, filed Dec.29, 2005, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety.

Users may access media content and the media guidance application (andits display screens described above and below) from one or more of theiruser equipment devices. FIG. 3A shows a generalized embodiment ofillustrative user equipment device 300. More specific implementations ofuser equipment devices are discussed below in connection with FIG. 4.User equipment device 300 may receive media content and data viainput/output (hereinafter “I/O”) path 302. I/O path 302 may providemedia content (e.g., broadcast programming, on-demand programming,Internet content, and other video or audio) and data to controlcircuitry 304, which includes processing circuitry 306 and storage 308.Control circuitry 304 may be used to send and receive commands,requests, and other suitable data using I/O path 302. I/O path 302 mayconnect control circuitry 304 (and specifically processing circuitry306) to one or more communications paths (described below). I/Ofunctions may be provided by one or more of these communications paths,but are shown as a single path in FIG. 3A to avoid overcomplicating thedrawing.

Control circuitry 304 may be based on any suitable processing circuitry306 such as processing circuitry based on one or more microprocessors,microcontrollers, digital signal processors, programmable logic devices,etc. In some embodiments, control circuitry 304 executes instructionsfor a media guidance application stored in memory (i.e., storage 308).In client-server based embodiments, control circuitry 304 may includecommunications circuitry suitable for communicating with a guidanceapplication server or other networks or servers. Communicationscircuitry may include a cable modem, an integrated services digitalnetwork (ISDN) modem, a digital subscriber line (DSL) modem, a telephonemodem, a wireless modem for communications with other equipment, afiber-optic communications interface, a network interface (e.g., for anEthernet network), and/or any other suitable interface. Suchcommunications may involve the Internet or any other suitablecommunications networks or paths (which is described in more detail inconnection with FIG. 4). In addition, communications circuitry mayinclude circuitry that enables peer-to-peer communication of userequipment devices, or communication of user equipment devices inlocations remote from each other (described in more detail below).

Memory (e.g., random-access memory, read-only memory, or any othersuitable memory), hard drives, optical drives, or any other suitablefixed or removable storage devices (e.g., DVD recorder, CD recorder,video cassette recorder, or other suitable recording device) may beprovided as storage 308 that is part of control circuitry 304. Storage308 may include one or more of the above types of storage devices. Forexample, user equipment device 300 may include a hard drive for a DVR(sometimes called a personal video recorder, or PVR) and a DVD recorderas a secondary storage device. Storage 308 may be used to store varioustypes of media described herein and guidance application data, includingprogram information, guidance application settings, user preferences orprofile information, or other data used in operating the guidanceapplication. Non-volatile memory may also be used (e.g., to launch aboot-up routine and other instructions).

Control circuitry 304 may include video generating circuitry and tuningcircuitry, such as one or more analog tuners, one or more MPEG-2decoders or other digital decoding circuitry, high-definition tuners, orany other suitable tuning or video circuits or combinations of suchcircuits. Encoding circuitry (e.g., for converting over-the-air, analog,or digital signals to MPEG signals for storage) may also be provided.Control circuitry 304 may also include scaler circuitry for upconvertingand downconverting media into the preferred output format of the userequipment 300. Circuitry 304 may also include digital-to-analogconverter circuitry and analog-to-digital converter circuitry forconverting between digital and analog signals. The tuning and encodingcircuitry may be used by the user equipment to receive and to display,to play, or to record media content. The tuning and encoding circuitrymay also be used to receive guidance data. The circuitry describedherein, including for example, the tuning, video generating, encoding,decoding, scaler, and analog/digital circuitry, may be implemented usingsoftware running on one or more general purpose or specializedprocessors. Multiple tuners may be provided to handle simultaneoustuning functions (e.g., watch and record functions, picture-in-picture(PIP) functions, multiple-tuner recording, etc.). If storage 308 isprovided as a separate device from user equipment 300, the tuning andencoding circuitry (including multiple tuners) may be associated withstorage 308.

A user may control the control circuitry 304 using user input interface310. User input interface 310 may be any suitable user interface, suchas a remote control, mouse, trackball, keypad, keyboard, touch screen,touch pad, stylus input, joystick, voice recognition interface, or otheruser input interfaces. Display 312 may be provided as a stand-alonedevice or integrated with other elements of user equipment device 300.Display 312 may be one or more of a monitor, a television, a liquidcrystal display (LCD) for a mobile device, or any other suitableequipment for displaying visual images. In some embodiments, display 312may be HDTV-capable. Speakers 314 may be provided as integrated withother elements of user equipment device 300 or may be stand-alone units.The audio component of videos and other media content displayed ondisplay 312 may be played through speakers 314. In some embodiments, theaudio may be distributed to a receiver (not shown), which processes andoutputs the audio via speakers 314.

As shown in FIG. 3B, in some embodiments, a user equipment device 316similar to user equipment device 300 of FIG. 3A may also includelocating circuitry 320 as part of control circuitry 318. Locatingcircuitry 320 may be any suitable mechanism for determining the locationof user equipment device 316. For example, locating circuitry 320 mayinclude Global Positioning System (GPS) circuitry, such as a GPSreceiver. As another example, locating circuitry 320 may include radiotelemetry circuitry, mobile phone locating circuitry, wireless networktriangulation circuitry, etc. In some embodiments, in addition toproviding location information, location circuitry may also providetraffic and/or travel information, which may include informationregarding congestion, accidents, flight delays, weather, etc.

Referring back to user equipment device 300 of FIG. 3A, although device300 is illustrated as not including locating circuitry, in someembodiments, a device 300 may nevertheless be able to determine itslocation. For example, a device 300 may determine its location byincluding hardware or software for identifying a local area network or aportion of a wide area network to which it is connected. Similarly, adevice 300 may determine its location based on any suitable signalreceived (e.g., such as a local television signal) by the device.

User equipment device 300 of FIG. 3A and user equipment device 316 ofFIG. 3B can be implemented in system 400 of FIG. 4 as user televisionequipment 402, user computer equipment 404, wireless user communicationsdevice 406, or any other type of user equipment suitable for accessingmedia, such as a non-portable gaming machine. For simplicity, thesedevices may be referred to herein collectively as user equipment or userequipment devices. User equipment devices, on which a media guidanceapplication is implemented, may function as a standalone device or maybe part of a network of devices. Various network configurations ofdevices may be implemented and are discussed in more detail below.

User television equipment 402 may include a set-top box, an integratedreceiver decoder (IRD) for handling satellite television, a televisionset, a digital storage device, a DVD recorder, a video-cassette recorder(VCR), a local media server, or other user television equipment. One ormore of these devices may be integrated to be a single device, ifdesired. User computer equipment 404 may include a PC, a laptop, atablet, a WebTV box, a personal computer television (PC/TV), a PC mediaserver, a PC media center, or other user computer equipment. WEBTV (nowknown as MSN TV) is a trademark owned by Microsoft Corp. Wireless usercommunications device 406 may include PDAs, a mobile telephone, aportable video player, a portable music player, a portable gamingmachine, or other wireless devices.

It should be noted that with the advent of television tuner cards forPC's, WebTV, and the integration of video into other user equipmentdevices, the lines have become blurred when trying to classify a deviceas one of the above devices. In fact, each of user television equipment402, user computer equipment 404, and wireless user communicationsdevice 406 may utilize at least some of the system features describedabove in connection with FIGS. 3A and 3B and, as a result, includeflexibility with respect to the type of media content available on thedevice. For example, user television equipment 402 may beInternet-enabled allowing for access to Internet content, while usercomputer equipment 404 may include a tuner allowing for access totelevision programming. The media guidance application may also have thesame layout on the various different types of user equipment or may betailored to the display capabilities of the user equipment. For example,on user computer equipment, the guidance application may be provided asa web site accessed by a web browser. In another example, the guidanceapplication may be scaled down for wireless user communications devices.

In some embodiments, as illustrated in FIG. 4, wireless usercommunications device 406 may be coupled to locating circuitry 424.Locating circuitry 424 may be substantially the same as locatingcircuitry 320, described above in connection with FIG. 3B. In someembodiments, locating circuitry 424 may be part of another system. Forexample, locating circuitry 424 may be part of a navigation system(e.g., an embedded or portable navigation system), part of an automobileconcierge system (e.g., OnStar), part of a safety system (e.g., mobilephone GPS circuitry), etc. ONSTAR is a trademark owned by OnStarCorporation. Locating circuitry may be coupled to wireless usercommunications device 406 using any suitable mechanism, such as usingshort-range point-to-point communication paths, such as an NMEA 0183interface, an NMEA 2000 interface, a USB cable, an IEEE 1394 cable, awireless path (e.g., Bluetooth, infrared, IEEE 802-11x, etc.), oranother form of short-range communications via a wired or wireless path.Although locating circuitry 424 is illustrated in FIG. 4 as beingcoupled to wireless user communication device 406, in some embodiments,circuitry 424 can be omitted or additionally or alternatively similarlycoupled to user television equipment 402 and/or user computer equipment404 as desired.

In addition to providing an interactive media guidance application, insome embodiments, some or all of user television equipment 402, usercomputer equipment 404, and/or wireless user communications device 406can provide other functions. For example, these user equipment devicesmay provide navigation functions as part of an embedded or a portablenavigation system. As a more particular example, an interactive mediaguidance application and a navigation system may be included in userequipment devices used on, or which are part of, an automobile, amotorcycle, a boat, a ship, an airplane, or other vehicle. As anothermore particular example, an interactive media guidance application and anavigation system may be included in user equipment devices which arealso mobile telephones, portable entertainment devices (e.g., such asmusic or video players), portable email devices, etc.

In system 400, there is typically more than one of each type of userequipment device but only one of each is shown in FIG. 4 to avoidovercomplicating the drawing. In addition, each user may utilize morethan one type of user equipment device (e.g., a user may have atelevision set and a computer) and also more than one of each type ofuser equipment device (e.g., a user may have a PDA and a mobiletelephone and/or multiple television sets).

The user may also set various settings to control, and/or maintainconsistent media guidance application settings across, in-home devicesand remote devices. Settings include those described herein, as well aschannel and program favorites, programming preferences that the guidanceapplication utilizes to make programming recommendations, displaypreferences, and other desirable guidance settings. For example, if auser sets a channel as a favorite on, for example, the web sitewww.tvguide.com on their personal computer at their office, the samechannel may appear as a favorite on the user's in-home devices (e.g.,user television equipment and user computer equipment) as well as theuser's mobile devices, if desired. As another example, a user mayspecify using one device (e.g., a portable device or one mounted in theuser's automobile) that a program is to be recorded on another of theuser's devices (e.g., the user's home device). Therefore, changes madeon one user equipment device can change the guidance experience onanother user equipment device, regardless of whether they are the sameor a different type of user equipment device. In addition, the changesmade may be based on settings input by a user, as well as user activitymonitored by the guidance application.

The user equipment devices may be coupled to communications network 414.Namely, user television equipment 402, user computer equipment 404, andwireless user communications device 406 may be coupled to communicationsnetwork 414 via communications paths 408, 410, and 412, respectively.Communications network 414 may be one or more networks including theInternet, a mobile phone network, mobile device (e.g., Blackberry)network, cable network, public switched telephone network, or othertypes of communications network or combinations of communicationsnetworks. BLACKBERRY is a trademark owned by Research In Motion LimitedCorp. Paths 408, 410, and 412 may separately or together include one ormore communications paths, such as, a satellite path, a fiber-opticpath, a cable path, a path that supports Internet communications (e.g.,IPTV), free-space connections (e.g., for broadcast or other wirelesssignals), or any other suitable wired or wireless communications path orcombination of such paths. Path 412 is drawn with dotted lines toindicate that in the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 4 it is awireless path and paths 408 and 410 are drawn as solid lines to indicatethey are wired paths (although these paths may be wireless paths, ifdesired). Communications with the user equipment devices may be providedby one or more of these communications paths, but are shown as a singlepath in FIG. 4 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing.

Although communications paths are not drawn between user equipmentdevices, these devices may communicate directly with each other viacommunication paths, such as those described above in connection withpaths 408, 410, and 412, as well other short-range point-to-pointcommunication paths, such as USB cables, IEEE 1394 cables, wirelesspaths (e.g., Bluetooth, infrared, IEEE 802-11x, etc.), or othershort-range communication via wired or wireless paths. BLUETOOTH is atrademark owned by Bluetooth SIG, INC. The user equipment devices mayalso communicate with each other directly through an indirect path viacommunications network 414.

System 400 includes media content source 416 and media guidance datasource 418 coupled to communications network 414 via communication paths420 and 422, respectively. Paths 420 and 422 may include any of thecommunication paths described above in connection with paths 408, 410,and 412. Communications with the media content source 416 and mediaguidance data source 418 may be exchanged over one or morecommunications paths, but are shown as a single path in FIG. 4 to avoidovercomplicating the drawing. In addition, there may be more than one ofeach of media content source 416 and media guidance data source 418, butonly one of each is shown in FIG. 4 to avoid overcomplicating thedrawing. (The different types of each of these sources are discussedbelow.) If desired, media content source 416 and media guidance datasource 418 may be integrated as one source device. Althoughcommunications between sources 416 and 418 with user equipment devices402, 404, and 406 are shown as through communications network 414, insome embodiments, sources 416 and 418 may communicate directly with userequipment devices 402, 404, and 406 via communication paths (not shown)such as those described above in connection with paths 408, 410, and412.

Media content source 416 may include one or more types of mediadistribution equipment including a television distribution facility,cable system headend, satellite distribution facility, programmingsources (e.g., television broadcasters, such as NBC, ABC, HBO, etc.),intermediate distribution facilities and/or servers, Internet providers,on-demand media servers, and other media content providers. NBC is atrademark owned by the National Broadcasting Company, Inc., ABC is atrademark owned by the ABC, INC., and HBO is a trademark owned by theHome Box Office, Inc. Media content source 416 may be the originator ofmedia content (e.g., a television broadcaster, a Webcast provider, etc.)or may not be the originator of media content (e.g., an on-demand mediacontent provider, an Internet provider of video content of broadcastprograms for downloading, etc.). Media content source 416 may includecable sources, satellite providers, on-demand providers, Internetproviders, or other providers of media content. Media content source 416may also include a remote media server used to store different types ofmedia content (including video content selected by a user), in alocation remote from any of the user equipment devices. Systems andmethods for remote storage of media content, and providing remotelystored media content to user equipment are discussed in greater detailin connection with Ellis et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication No.2003/0149988 A1, published Aug. 7, 2003, which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

Media guidance data source 418 may provide media guidance data, such asmedia listings, media-related information (e.g., broadcast times,broadcast channels, media titles, media descriptions, ratingsinformation (e.g., parental control ratings, critic's ratings, etc.),genre or category information, actor information, logo data forbroadcasters' or providers' logos, etc.), media format (e.g., standarddefinition, high definition, etc.), advertisement information (e.g.,text, images, media clips, etc.), on-demand information, and any othertype of guidance data that is helpful for a user to navigate among andlocate desired media selections.

Media guidance application data may be provided to the user equipmentdevices using any suitable approach. In some embodiments, the guidanceapplication may be a stand-alone interactive television program guidethat receives program guide data via a data feed (e.g., a continuousfeed, trickle feed, or data in the vertical blanking interval of achannel). Program schedule data and other guidance data may be providedto the user equipment on a television channel sideband, in the verticalblanking interval of a television channel, using an in-band digitalsignal, using an out-of-band digital signal, or by any other suitabledata transmission technique. Program schedule data and other guidancedata may be provided to user equipment on multiple analog or digitaltelevision channels. Program schedule data and other guidance data maybe provided to the user equipment with any suitable frequency (e.g.,continuously, daily, a user-specified period of time, a system-specifiedperiod of time, in response to a request from user equipment, etc.). Insome approaches, guidance data from media guidance data source 418 maybe provided to users' equipment using a client-server approach. Forexample, a guidance application client residing on the user's equipmentmay initiate sessions with source 418 to obtain guidance data whenneeded. Media guidance data source 418 may provide user equipmentdevices 402, 404, and 406 the media guidance application itself orsoftware updates for the media guidance application.

Media guidance applications may be, for example, stand-aloneapplications implemented on user equipment devices. In otherembodiments, media guidance applications may be client-serverapplications where only the client resides on the user equipment device.For example, media guidance applications may be implemented partially asa client application on control circuitry 304 of user equipment device300 and partially on a remote server as a server application (e.g.,media guidance data source 418). The guidance application displays maybe generated by the media guidance data source 418 and transmitted tothe user equipment devices. The media guidance data source 418 may alsotransmit data for storage on the user equipment, which then generatesthe guidance application displays based on instructions processed bycontrol circuitry.

Media guidance system 400 is intended to illustrate a number ofapproaches, or network configurations, by which user equipment devicesand sources of media content and guidance data may communicate with eachother for the purpose of accessing media and providing media guidance.The present invention may be applied in any one or a subset of theseapproaches, or in a system employing other approaches for deliveringmedia and providing media guidance. The following three approachesprovide specific illustrations of the generalized example of FIG. 4.

In one approach, user equipment devices may communicate with each otherwithin a home network. User equipment devices can communicate with eachother directly via short-range point-to-point communication schemesdescribed above, via indirect paths through a hub or other similardevice provided on a home network, or via communications network 414.Each of the multiple individuals in a single home may operate differentuser equipment devices on the home network. As a result, it may bedesirable for various media guidance information or settings to becommunicated between the different user equipment devices. For example,it may be desirable for users to maintain consistent media guidanceapplication settings on different user equipment devices within a homenetwork, as described in greater detail in Ellis et al., U.S. PatentApplication Publication No. 2005/0251827 A1, published Nov. 10, 2005.Different types of user equipment devices in a home network may alsocommunicate with each other to transmit media content. For example, auser may transmit media content from user computer equipment to aportable video player or portable music player.

In a second approach, users may have multiple types of user equipment bywhich they access media content and obtain media guidance. For example,some users may have home networks that are accessed by in-home andmobile devices. Users may control in-home devices via a media guidanceapplication implemented on a remote device. For example, users mayaccess a media guidance application on a website via a personal computerat their office, on a mobile device such as a PDA or web-enabled mobiletelephone, on a vehicle-based system that is part of or coupled to anavigation system, etc. The user may set various settings (e.g.,recordings, reminders, or other settings) on the guidance application tocontrol the user's in-home equipment. The guide may control the user'sequipment directly, or by communicating with a media guidanceapplication on the user's in-home equipment. Various systems and methodsfor user equipment devices communicating, where the user equipmentdevices are in locations remote from each other, are discussed in, forexample, Ellis et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication No.2005/0028208 A1, published Feb. 3, 2005, which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

In a third approach, users of user equipment devices inside and outsidea home can use their media guidance application to communicate directlywith media content source 416 to access media content. Specifically,within a home, users of user television equipment 402 and user computerequipment 404 may access the media guidance application to navigateamong and locate desirable media content. Users may also access themedia guidance application outside of the home using wireless usercommunications devices 406 to navigate among and locate desirable mediacontent.

It will be appreciated that while the discussion of media content hasfocused on video content, the principles of media guidance can beapplied to other types of media content, such as music, images, etc.

In some embodiments, an interactive media guidance application may bepresented based upon a current location, a destination, and/or anarrival time of a traveling user. Such an interactive media guidanceapplication may be part of, or coupled to, navigation system in anautomobile (or other vehicle), for example. As another example, whenimplemented with a navigation system, an interactive media guidanceapplication may be launched from within the navigation system as afeature of the navigation system.

Turning to FIG. 5, a process 500 that may be used to implement aninteractive media guidance application based upon a current location, adestination, and/or an arrival time of a traveling user is illustrated.As shown, beginning at step 502, process 500 may first determine thecurrent location of a user and/or the user's user equipment device. Thecurrent location may be represented as any suitable geographicreference. For example, the location may be represented as an address, acity, a county, a state, a zip code, a latitude and longitude, an areacode, etc. This determination may be made in any suitable manner usingany suitable information. For example, in some embodiments, thisdetermination may be made using a satellite position location system,such as the Global Positioning System. As another example, thisdetermination may be made by receiving information from the user, suchas in response to a prompt or using a default setting. As still anotherexample, this determination may be made by determining the location of anetwork (such as a local wireless network) to which the user equipmentdevice is coupled.

Next, at step 504, a destination of the user and/or the user's userequipment device may be determined. The destination may be representedas any suitable geographic reference. For example, the destination maybe represented as an address, a city, a county, a state, a zip code, alatitude and longitude, an area code, a distance and/or direction fromthe current location, etc. This determination may be made in anysuitable manner using any suitable information. For example, thisdetermination may be made by receiving information from the user, suchas in response to a prompt or using a default or temporary setting(e.g., as illustrated in FIG. 13). As another example, thisdetermination may be made by receiving destination informationassociated with a route or a waypoint in a navigation system.

At step 506, the arrival time for the user and/or the user's userequipment device at the destination may be determined. The arrival timemay be represented in any suitable manner. For example, the arrival timemay be represented as an absolute time (e.g., 7:30 pm) or may berepresented as a relative time (e.g., 1 hour and 30 minutes (1:30) fromthe current time). This determination may be made in any suitable mannerusing any suitable information. For example, this determination mayperform a calculation of the time from the current location to thedestination based on the distance and a speed between these points. Asanother example, this determination may receive an arrival time from anavigation system. As still another example, this determination may bebased on the average travel time between these two points duringprevious trips. As yet another example, the arrival time may be based ona scheduled arrival time (e.g., for a train, bus, or plane). As yetanother example, this determination may additionally take into accountone or more delays, such delays due to congestion, accidents, waitingtimes, transfer times, walking times, weather, construction, flightdelays, etc. As yet another example, this determination may additionallytake into account time changes due to time zone changes, daylightsavings time, etc. How this arrival time is calculated may be based onuser input (e.g., as illustrated in FIG. 13). After the calculation ofthe arrival time is completed, in one embodiment, a user may watch aprogram while in transit such that the interactive media guidanceapplication may display a list of programs that the user may watch inits entirety before reaching the destination.

Referring to FIG. 6, an example of steps that may be performed inperforming step 506 of FIG. 5 is illustrated. As shown, initially, thedistance(s) between the current location and the destination may bedetermined at step 600. The distance(s) may be determined in anysuitable manner using any suitable information. For example, a singletotal distance may be obtained from a navigation system. As anotherexample, multiple distances may be calculated for portions of a routespecified for the trip between the current location and the destination.

Next, the speed(s) of travel may be determined at step 602. The speed(s)may be determined in any suitable manner using any suitable information.For example, an average speed for the distance may be determined basedon previous trips, the mode of transportation (e.g., a train's knownaverage speed), etc. As another example, various speeds may bedetermined based on the speed limits for different portions of a routebetween the current location and the destination.

At 604, delays may be determined. The delays may be determined in anysuitable manner using any suitable information. For example, the delaysmay take into consideration congestion, accidents, waiting times,transfer times, walking times, weather, construction, flight delays,etc. This delay information may be obtained from any suitable source(e.g., from a user input as illustrated in FIG. 13).

Based on the distance(s), speed(s), delays, and any other suitableinformation, an arrival time may be determined at 606.

In some embodiments, pre-arrival interactive media guidance applications(pre-arrival guides) and post-arrival interactive guidance applications(post-arrival guides) may be presented. A pre-arrival guide may presentinformation for items of media content that are available to be viewedor listened-to before the user arrives at the destination (e.g., whilethe user is in transit). The information presented in a pre-arrivalguide may correspond to one or more geographic areas through which theuser and/or the user's user equipment device is passing or will pass onthe way to the destination. A post-arrival guide may present informationfor items of media content that are available to be viewed orlistened-to at the destination, whether at the current time, at thearrival time, or at any other time.

Turning back to FIG. 5, at step 508, it may next be determined whether apre-arrival guide is to be presented. This determination may beperformed in any suitable manner using any suitable information. Forexample, this determination may be made by receiving information fromthe user, such as in response to a prompt or using a default setting(e.g., as illustrated in FIG. 13). As another example, thisdetermination may be made based on the amount of time remaining beforethe arrival time. As still another example, this determination may bemade based upon whether media content is available to be viewed whilethe user is in transit.

If it is determined at step 508 that a pre-arrival guide is to bepresented, then, at step 510, a pre-arrival guide may be presented.Examples of pre-arrival guides are shown and described below inconnection with FIGS. 7-10. If it is determined at step 508 that apre-arrival guide is not to be presented, then at step 512, apost-arrival guide may be presented. Examples of post-arrival guides areshown and described below in connection with FIGS. 11-12. In presentinga pre-arrival guide or a post-arrival guide, data for the guide may beobtained from any suitable media guidance data source (e.g., from alocally stored database, from a remote service, etc.) at any time (e.g.,on demand or in advance).

In some embodiments, pre-arrival guides may not be used, and thereforesteps 508 and 510 may be omitted. In such cases, step 506 may branchdirectly to step 512.

The operation of a pre-arrival guide and/or post-arrival guide may besimilar to that described above in connection with the interactive mediaguidance applications of FIGS. 1 and 2. For example, a user may move ahighlight region 110 to a cell containing a description of mediacontent, and press a button on a remote control to select that mediacontent. Selection of media content may be made for various reasons. Forexample, media content may be selected so that the user can view orlisten to the content. As another example, media content may be selectedso that the user can record the media content. As still another example,media content may be selected so that the user can set a reminder towatch the media content.

If a user selects media content presented in a pre-arrival guide or apost-arrival guide, the selection may be received at step 514. Next, atstep 516 it may be determined whether the media content is available tobe watched or listened to prior to the arrival time. If it is, then atstep 518 it may be determined whether the media content is to bepresented now. This determination may be made in any suitable mannerusing any suitable information. For example, the user may be prompted asto whether he or she wants to view or listen-to the media content (e.g.,using a default setting as illustrated in FIG. 13). As another example,a button the user pressed (or other input action) in selecting the mediacontent may also indicate that the user desires to view or listen-to themedia content.

If it is determined at step 518 that the media content is to bepresented now, the media content may then be presented at step 520. Anysuitable manner for presenting the selected media content may be used.

If it is determined at step 518 that the media content is not to bepresented now, after the media has been presented at step 520, or if themedia content is not available before the arrival time, it may then bedetermined at step 522 if the media content is to be recorded. Thisdetermination may be made in any suitable manner using any suitableinformation. For example, the determination may be made based on aprompt to the user. As another example, the determination may be madebased on a default setting (e.g., as shown in FIG. 13). As still anotherexample, the determination may be made based on a button pressed (orother input made) when the user selected the media content. As yetanother example, the determination may be made based on the capabilitiesof the user's user equipment device through the communicationscapabilities between these devices.

If it is determined at step 522 that the media content is to berecorded, the media content may be configured to be recorded at step524. This may be performed in any suitable manner, for example, usingthe techniques and mechanisms described above in connection with FIGS.1-4. As another example, media content may be configured to be recordedusing a digital video recorder (DVR). The recording may be performed onany desired user equipment device. For example, a user traveling with aportable user equipment device may configure the recording to happen onthe user's home user equipment device.

In some embodiments, recording of selected media content may beconfigured to occur on user equipment devices at the destination, orcoupled to the destination, but not owned or controlled by the user. Forexample, a user planning to travel, or traveling, to a hotel (or anyother public or private accommodation) may be able designate that theselected media content is to be recorded on a user equipment deviceoperated by the hotel (or other operator), or a third party. This userequipment device may be located, for example, in a hotel room, in acentral location at a hotel, or at an offsite location coupled to thehotel. This media content may be recorded before or after the time thatthe user first arrives at the destination. In some embodiments, thehotel (or other operator) or third party may charge the user a fee forrecording the media content and/or making the media content available tothe user.

Similarly, the user may designate that recording of media content is tooccur on user equipment devices owned or controlled by the user, butplayback is to occur on playback equipment owned or controlled by ahotel (or other operator) or a third party. The media content may beprovided using any suitable technique (e.g., such as streaming) from theuser's user equipment devices to playback equipment at a hotel or otherpublic or private accommodation via any suitable communication network.In some embodiments, the hotel (or other operator) or third party maycharge the user a fee for making the media content available to theuser.

To facilitate recording or playback on hotel (or other operator) orthird party equipment, in some embodiments, the destination may bespecified by the user using a special code that both designates ageographical location and a logical address for a device that willfacilitate the recording or playback. For example, a telephone numbermay be used to specify a room in a hotel, and thereby indicate thatmedia content is to be recorded by a DVR in that room.

In some embodiments, when media content is selected from a pre-arrivalguide and a portion of the media content is presented, it may bedetermined whether any portion of the media content may not be availableto the user. This unavailability may be for any reason such as the userarriving at the destination before the media content presentation iscomplete, the user having to stop the presentation of the media contentbefore the presentation is complete (e.g., because the user has toswitch trains, walk for some final portion of the trip, etc.), the mediacontent signal being lost (e.g., due to a train entering a tunnel, avehicle going to an area outside of a wireless network, etc.),broadcasting restrictions (e.g., blackouts of sporting events), etc. Ifit is determined that a portion of the media content may be unavailable,that portion, or all, of the media content may be designated as to berecorded. This recording may be performed on any desired user equipmentdevice, and which user equipment device performs the recording may bebased on which device the media content is available to. For example, auser traveling with a portable user equipment device may configure therecording to happen on the user's home user equipment device where thathome device is not subject to blackout restrictions.

After configuring the media content to be recorded at step 524, or if itis determined at step 522 that the media content is not to be recorded,then at step 526 it may be determined if a reminder is to be set for themedia content. This determination may be made in any suitable mannerusing any suitable information. For example, the determination may bemade based on a prompt to the user. As another example, thedetermination may be made based on a default setting. As still anotherexample, the determination may be made based on a button pressed (orother input made) when the user selected the media content. As yetanother example, the determination may be made based on the capabilitiesof the user's user equipment device.

If it is determined at step 526 that a reminder is to be set for themedia content, then at step 528 a reminder may be configured. Thereminder may be configured in any suitable manner using any suitableinformation. For example, the reminder may be set to cause a message tobe displayed on a television 15 minutes before the media content is tobe presented. As another example, the reminder may be set to send anemail, instant message, or text (SMS) message at a given point prior tothe presentation of the media content.

After configuring the reminder at step 528, or if it is determined thatno reminder is to be set at step 526, process 500 may end.

Examples of pre-arrival guides are now illustrated in connection withFIGS. 7-10. Turning first to FIG. 7, it can be seen from message 702that a pre-arrival guide 700 is shown. Guide 700 may include an arrivaltime indicator 704 to indicate the determined arrival time at thedestination 703. As illustrated in this example, the arrival time is7:30 pm, and thus media content available between the current time(e.g., 6:00 pm) and the arrival time are identified. In someembodiments, only content/media type identifiers 104 corresponding tomedia content that can be accessed by the user between the current timeand the arrival time are presented in guide 700. Other features of guide700 may be performed in the same or a similar manner to that describedin connection with display 100 of FIG. 1. Guide 700 may also include acurrent location indicator 705.

An alternate form of pre-arrival guide is illustrated as guide 800 ofFIG. 8. As shown, guide 800 may include a message 802 to indicate thatit is a pre-arrival guide, an arrival time indicator 804, a destinationindicator 803, and a current location indicator 805. As with guide 700,the media content identified in guide 800 may be limited to mediacontent that can be accessed by the user while traveling to thedestination. Other features of guide 800 may be performed in the same ora similar manner to that described in connection with display 200 ofFIG. 2.

As shown in FIG. 9, in some embodiments, if a user selects media contentthat will end after the arrival time, the user may be prompted with aprompt 902 to indicate whether the user wants to start recording themedia content before the user gets to the destination. The user mayrespond to the prompt by selecting one of buttons 904 and 906. If theuser selects to record the media content, recording may be configured asdescribed above in connection with FIG. 5.

In some embodiments, when recording is selected to occur, the user maybe prompted as to when to begin recording the media content asillustrated in FIG. 10. As shown, the user may be presented with aprompt 1002 that asks the user to specify a recording begin time. Thistime may be specified in any suitable manner. For example, as shown, theuser may be presented with buttons 1004 for specifying to beginrecording at 30 minutes before the arrival time, 15 minutes before thearrival time, five minutes before the arrival time, at the arrival time,at the beginning of the program, etc.

Examples of post-arrival guides are now illustrated in connection withFIGS. 11-12. Turning first to FIG. 11, it can be seen from message 1102that a post-arrival guide 1100 is shown. Guide 1100 may include anarrival time indicator 1104 to indicate the determined arrival time atthe destination 1103. As illustrated in this example, the arrival timeis 7:30 pm, and thus media content available after the arrival time areidentified. Guide 1100 may also include a current location indicator1105. In some embodiments, only content/media type identifiers 104corresponding to media content that can be accessed by the user at thedestination are presented in guide 1100. Other features of guide 1100may be performed in the same or a similar manner to that described inconnection with display 100 of FIG. 1.

An alternate form of post-arrival guide is illustrated as guide 1200 ofFIG. 12. As shown, guide 1200 may include a message 1202 to indicatethat it is a post-arrival guide, an arrival time indicator 1204, adestination indicator 1203, and a current location indicator 1205. Aswith guide 1100, the media content identified in guide 1200 may belimited to media content that can be accessed by the user at thedestination. Other features of guide 1200 may be performed in the sameor a similar manner to that described in connection with display 200 ofFIG. 2.

As shown in FIG. 13, a setup screen 1300 for an interactive mediaguidance application is illustrated. As shown, the user may be promptedto enter a default destination. The default destination may be specifiedusing a postal code in field 1302, an area code in field 1304, or anyother suitable default destination identifier. The user may also beprompted to enter a temporary destination using postal code field 1306,area code field 1308, or any other suitable temporary destinationidentifier. The temporary destination may be used to allow a user tokeep the default destination always set at the user's home or office,and then use the temporary destination to override the defaultdestination when making trips to other destinations.

As also shown in screen 1300, a user may be prompted to select how tocalculate the arrival time based on the travel speed and delays, averagetrip time, or any other suitable criteria or criterion using radiobuttons 1310 and 1312. The user may also be prompted to specify a delaytime to be added to calculated arrival times using a field 1314 andradio buttons 1316 and 1318. The user may also be prompted to select thelocation data source using drop down menu 1320. As shown, the locationdata source may be provided by GPS circuitry. Using radio buttons 1322and 1324, the user may be prompted whether to record media content. Thissetting may override or be factored into the other criteria that may beused for determining whether to record media content as described above.Finally, the user may be prompted whether to enable presentation ofmedia content while traveling using radio buttons 1326 and 1328. Thissetting may be taken into account when making the determination of step518 of FIG. 5.

Turning to FIG. 14, another grid guide 1400 is illustrated. As indicatedby message 1402, this guide indicates what media content that isavailable at the user's current location (e.g., the user's home) willnot be available when the user arrives at the user's destination.Knowledge of what may not be available to the user may be desirable sothat the user can record the program at another location, such as theuser's home, for example. As shown, certain guide listings 1404, 1406,1408, and 1410 are “grayed out” to indicate that they are not availableat the destination.

FIG. 15 illustrates a process 1500 for presenting on a user equipmentdevice a guide that indicates what programs will not be available at adestination in accordance with some embodiments. As shown, at step 1502,the location of the user equipment device is determined. Thisdetermination may be made using any suitable approach, such as describedabove in connection with step 502 of FIG. 5. Next, at 1504, guidelisting for media content at the location of the user equipment may beidentified. This identification may be limited in some embodiments toonly lists between the current time and a given period of time in thefuture. At 1506, the destination of the user equipment may bedetermined. This destination may be determined using any suitableapproach, such as described above in connection with step 504 of FIG. 5.Next, at step 1508, it may be determined which of the listingsidentified at 1504 corresponds to media content not available at thedestination. These listings may then be presented to the user at 1510.In some embodiments, listings that are available at the destination mayalso be presented to the user (for example, as shown in FIG. 14 by thenon-grayed-out listings).

After presenting the guide listings for media content that are notavailable at the destination, a selection of one of the listings may bereceived from the user at 1512. This selection may be made using anysuitable technique, such as described above in connection with step 514of FIG. 5. At step 1514, it may then be determined whether the mediacontent corresponding to the selected listing is to be recorded. Thisdetermination may be made using any suitable approach, such as describedabove in connection with step 522 of FIG. 5. If it is determined at step1514 that the media content is to be recorded, the content may beconfigured for recording at step 1516. For example, the content may beconfigured for recording at the user's home (or any other location atwhich the selected content is available). In some embodiments, thelocation where media content is to be recorded can be selected so as tofacilitate transfer of the media content (e.g., via streaming) to thedestination (which may be permitted at destinations such as hotels for afee). For example, a location may be selected that has recordingequipment that is also capable of streaming media content to thedestination.

Next, process 1500 may determine at step 1518 whether listings foralternative media content should be presented to the user. Thisdetermination may be made based on any suitable criteria, such aswhether the same media content is available at another time, whether asimilar program is available, etc. If it is determined that listings foralternative content is to be presented to the user, the listings may bepresented using any suitable approach, such as by a dialog box.

If an alternative listing is not presented to the user, at step 1522, itmay be determined whether the content is to be made available to theuser. This determination may be made based on any suitable criteria orcriterion. For example, this determination may be based on whether theuser has configured the media content to be recorded or whether thedestination has authorized the delivery of the content (e.g., when ahotel requires payment of a fee to stream content to the hotel). If itis determined at step 1522 that the content is to be made available atthe destination, the content may be configured for availability at thedestination at step 1524.

Another example of a guide 1600 is illustrated in FIG. 16 in which, asshown by message 1602, a user can compare listings between a currentlocation and a destination. For example, row 1604 shows that channels “2CBS (KCBS)” (for Los Angeles) and “8 CBS (KFMB)” (for San Diego) duringthe period 7:30 pm through 9:00 pm have the same media content availableby showing the same, not-grayed-out listings for both channels. Asanother example, rows 1606 and 1608 indicate that channels “3 PBS(KCET)” (for Los Angeles) and “11 PBS (KPBS)” (for San Diego) during thesame period do not have any of the same media content available byshowing the listings for “3 PBS (KCET)” grayed-out and the listings for“11 PBS (KPBS)” not grayed-out. As yet another example, rows 1610 and1612 indicated that channels “4 NBC (KNBC)” (for Los Angeles) and “7 NBC(KNSD)” (for San Diego) have different media content between 7:30 pm and8:00 pm by showing one guide listing grayed-out and the other guidelisting not-grayed out, and the same media content between 8:00 pm and9:00 pm by showing a single, non-grayed-out guide listing.

Turning to FIG. 17, a process 1700 for presenting on a user equipmentdevice guide that indicates a comparison of what programs will beavailable at a current location versus a destination in accordance withsome embodiments. As shown, at step 1702, the location of the userequipment device is determined. This determination may be made using anysuitable approach, such as described above in connection with step 502of FIG. 5. Next, at 1704, guide listing for media content at thelocation of the user equipment may be identified. This identificationmay be limited in some embodiments to only listings between the currenttime and a given period of time in the future. At 1706, the destinationof the user equipment may be determined. This destination may bedetermined using any suitable approach, such as described above inconnection with step 504 of FIG. 5. Next, at step 1708, it may bedetermined which of the listings identified at 1704 corresponds to mediacontent not available at the destination. The remainder of the listingsmay then be presented to the user at 1710. Next, at 1711, listings thatare available at the destination may also be presented to the user (forexample, as shown in FIG. 14 by the non-grayed-out listings).

Next, a selection of one of the listings may be received from the userat 1712. This selection may be made using any suitable technique, suchas described above in connection with step 514 of FIG. 5. At step 1714,it may then be determined whether the media content corresponding to theselected listing is to be recorded. This determination may be made usingany suitable approach, such as described above in connection with step522 of FIG. 5. If it is determined at step 1714 that the media contentis to be recorded, the content may be configured for recording at step1716. For example, the content may be configured for recording at theuser's home (or any other location at which the selected content isavailable). In some embodiments, the location where media content is tobe recorded can be selected so as to facilitate transfer of the mediacontent (e.g., via streaming) to the destination (which may be permittedat destinations such as hotels for a fee). For example, a location maybe selected that has recording equipment that is also capable ofstreaming media content to the destination.

Next, process 1700 may determine at step 1718 whether listings foralternative media content should be presented to the user. Thisdetermination may be made base on any suitable criteria, such as whetherthe same media content is available at another time, whether a similarprogram is available, etc. If it is determined that listings foralternative content is to be presented to the user, the listings may bepresented using any suitable approach, such as by a dialog box.

If an alternative listing is not presented to the user, at step 1722, itmay be determined whether the content is to be made available to theuser. This determination may be made based on any suitable criteria orcriterion. For example, this determination may be based on whether theuser has configured the media content for recording or whether thedestination has authorized the delivery of the content (e.g., when ahotel requires payment of a fee to stream content to the hotel). If itis determined at step 1722 that the content is to be made available atthe destination, the content is configured for availability at thedestination at step 1724.

In accordance with some embodiments, a trip wizard may be provided tomanage a user's favorite media content while away. For example, asillustrated in FIG. 18, a trip wizard 1800 may prompt a user for adeparture date 1802, a return date 1804 and a destination 1806. Tripwizard 1800 may also ask the user whether it should generate remindersat the destination 1808, record favorite shows 1810, and forwardfavorite shows to the destination 1812.

Upon entering a departure date and a return date, the trip wizard maytake certain actions to assist the user in being presented with theuser's favorite media content while away and/or when the user returns.What content is a user's favorite media content may be based on anysuitable criteria or criterion. For example, the user's favorite mediacontent may be that content watched or listened to the most by the user.As another example, the user's favorite media content may be thatcontent explicitly specified (e.g., NY Yankees games) or falling into acategory explicitly categorized by the user (e.g., Major League Baseballgames).

In some embodiments, to assist the user in being presented with theuser's favorite media content, the trip wizard may generate reminders(during the period of the trip) at the destination to watch the user'sfavorite television shows. These reminders may be conveyed using anysuitable mechanism. For example, the reminders may be presented on atelevision screen in a hotel room (in which case, a fee may be chargedby the hotel), may be presented as SMS messages on a mobile phone, maybe presented as email messages on a portable email device, etc.

In some embodiments, the trip wizard may additionally or alternativelyrecord the user's favorite media content so that the user can bepresented with that content after the trip. The recording of thefavorite media content may be performed specifically during the periodof the trip.

In some embodiments, the trip wizard may forward the user's favoritemedia content to a hotel (or other destination) at which the user isstaying. As mentioned above, the hotel, or a third-party, may charge afee for this service. For example, a sports fan who would like to watchgames of his/her favorite team while away, but is unable to do so withlocal broadcasts because of local programming limitations, may configurethe trip wizard to forward the broadcast of the games from the user'shome via the Internet to a DVR located in the user's hotel room.

Thus, it is seen that methods and systems for presenting a guidanceapplication in a mobile device are provided. One skilled in the art willappreciate that the invention can be practiced by other than thedescribed embodiments, which are presented for purposes of illustrationand not of limitation, that various features of the describedembodiments can be interchanged and used in any suitable combination,and that the present invention is limited only by the claims whichfollow.

1. A method for presenting an interactive media guidance application ina user equipment device, comprising: determining a location of the userequipment device; determining a destination of the user equipmentdevice; determining an arrival time for the user equipment device to belocated at the destination; selecting, as guide listings, listingscorresponding to media available at the destination at or after thearrival time; and presenting the guide listings on the user equipmentdevice.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the guidance application is aninteractive program guide.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein thelocation of the user equipment device is determined using a satelliteposition location system.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein thesatellite position location system includes a Global Positioning System.5. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the arrival time is basedat least in part on at least one of route information, speed, distance,congestion, an accident, a waiting time, a transfer time, a walkingtime, weather, construction, a flight delay, a change in time zone,day-light savings time, and a mode of transportation.
 6. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising causing media corresponding to at least aportion of the guide listings to be recorded.
 7. The method of claim 6,further comprising receiving an indication of a user's desire that themedia be recorded.
 8. The method of claim 6, further comprising:presenting the media to a user beginning at a presentation time prior tothe arrival time; and causing the media to be recorded beginning at atime after the presentation time.
 9. The method of claim 8, furthercomprising causing the media to be recorded beginning at a time afterthe presentation time and before the arrival time.
 10. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising causing a reminder to be generated for mediacorresponding to at least a portion of the guide listings.
 11. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising receiving the guide listings priorto determining the location and determining the destination.
 12. Adevice for presenting an interactive media guidance application,comprising: processing circuitry that: determines a location of thedevice; determines a destination of the device; determines an arrivaltime for the device to be located at the destination; and selects, asguide listings, listings corresponding to media available at thedestination at or after the arrival time; and a display that presentsthe guide listings.
 13. The device of claim 12, wherein the guidanceapplication is an interactive program guide.
 14. The device of claim 12,wherein the location of the device is determined using a satelliteposition location system.
 15. The device of claim 14, wherein thesatellite position location system includes a Global Positioning System.16. The device of claim 12, wherein the processing circuitry determinesthe arrival time based at least in part on at least one of routeinformation, speed, distance, congestion, an accident, a waiting time, atransfer time, a walking time, weather, construction, a flight delay, achange in time zone, day-light savings time, and a mode oftransportation.
 17. The device of claim 12, wherein the processingcircuitry also causes media corresponding to at least a portion of theguide listings to be recorded.
 18. The device of claim 17, wherein theprocessing circuitry also receives an indication of a user's desire thatthe media be recorded.
 19. The device of claim 17, wherein theprocessing circuitry also: causes the media to be presented to a userbeginning at a presentation time prior to the arrival time; and causesthe media to be recorded beginning at a time after the presentationtime.
 20. The device of claim 19, wherein the processing circuitry alsocauses the media to be recorded beginning at a time after thepresentation time and before the arrival time.
 21. The device of claim12, wherein the processing circuitry also causes a reminder to begenerated for media corresponding to at least a portion of the guidelistings.
 22. The device of claim 12, wherein the processing circuitryalso receives the guide listings prior to determining the location anddetermining the destination.
 23. A device for presenting an interactivemedia guidance application, comprising: means for determining a locationof the device; means for determining a destination of the device; meansfor determining an arrival time for the device to be located at thedestination; means for selecting, as guide listings, listingscorresponding to media available at the destination at or after thearrival time; and means for presenting the guide listings on the device.24. The device of claim 23, wherein the guidance application is aninteractive program guide.
 25. The device of claim 23, wherein the meansfor determining the location of the device uses a satellite positionlocation system.
 26. The device of claim 25, wherein the satelliteposition location system includes a Global Positioning System.
 27. Thedevice of claim 23, wherein the means for determining the arrival timeuses at least in part on at least one of route information, speed,distance, congestion, an accident, a waiting time, a transfer time, awalking time, weather, construction, a flight delay, a change in timezone, day-light savings time, and a mode of transportation.
 28. Thedevice of claim 23, further comprising means for causing mediacorresponding to at least a portion of the guide listings to berecorded.
 29. The device of claim 28, further comprising means forreceiving an indication of a user's desire that the media be recorded.30. The device of claim 28, further comprising: means for presenting themedia to a user beginning at a presentation time prior to the arrivaltime; and means for causing the media to be recorded beginning at a timeafter the presentation time.
 31. The device of claim 30, furthercomprising means for causing the media to be recorded beginning at atime after the presentation time and before the arrival time.
 32. Thedevice of claim 23, further comprising means for causing a reminder tobe generated for media corresponding to at least a portion of the guidelistings.
 33. The device of claim 23, further comprising means forreceiving the guide listings prior to determining the location anddetermining the destination.